EDMOND — Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Weight Watchers has opened 500 new stores in the continental United States including one in Edmond and with it the introduction to the latest weight loss program, Weight Watchers 360.

Weight Watchers is inviting Edmond residents to attend its “One Amazing Day” celebration from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The event is free and open to the public and will feature success stories from local members, live and in person, free introductions to the new Weight Watchers 360 program, prizes and surprises.

Edmond’s store at 1333 N. Santa Fe, Suite 124, opened Dec. 30 and marks the fourth retail Weight Watchers store of its kind to open in central Oklahoma this year. Other retail stores opened in south Oklahoma City, Norman and Midwest City.

According to a release, the new Weight Watchers store features a contemporary yet welcoming and comfortable environment. The Edmond store will be open regular retail hours so people can stop in anytime to learn more about Weight Watchers, ask questions, purchase memberships and shop for many Weight Watchers products designed to support a healthier lifestyle.

Members also can weigh in at their convenience in a way that is more discreet than ever before, said Edmond Weight Watchers leader Sue Bowers.

Bowers started working for Weight Watchers in 2006 after reaching her lifetime goal in 1999.

“Being on staff with Weight Watchers helps me help others with their personal journey of weight loss,” Bowers said, “even though we all end up in the same place.”

The new Weight Watchers 360 is a fresh approach with new curriculum and tools to help members manage their food. The 360 is how the whole picture looks, eating correctly and leading a healthy lifestyle.

“We call it TSR: tracking, spaces and routine,” Bowers said.

With Weight Watchers’ “Tracking by using ActiveLink” a person can track energy expended. It measures all movement including house work, not just walking, and is waterproof for swimming while combining a state-of-the-art activity monitor with a personal Web experience. The user wears a USB port on the clothing, and then plugs into a computer to measure every calorie used while in motion.

Members learn to be aware of “Spaces” around them and keep them friendly by having things in their space that are healthy.

They are also encouraged to get into routines that will make them work the program better.

“Pack a snack, plan ahead, take something with you when you leave your house so when you start to get hungry you will have something that you can go eat and you don’t feel pressured to do the wrong thing and stop for a fast food item,” Bowers said. “We urge them to get in the habit of keeping a healthy life style for the rest of their life.”

With the new store and new program, Weight Watchers has added new options.

Members can do the whole program online, they can attend meetings at work and there are new electronic tools to purchase and use with the enhanced version of the website. The tools are free to Lifetime Members who maintain their goal weight.

Members can track food, points and restaurant options, among other things. Apps can be downloaded for iPads, iPhones and Androids that feature a scanner that can scan bar codes to tell how many points are in a specific food.

“Food is the first thing you think of as a reward, a celebration, or a response to sadness,” Bowers said. “A wrong decision in a grocery store may get you in trouble, and it is important to plan ahead.”

It is important to learn to recognize and control the proper portion size, she said. “Too much or too many of one thing is not good. It is not a competition to see how much you can stack on your plate, you can have spaces.”

“In 2013 Weight Watchers will celebrate our 50th anniversary and as we embarked on that milestone we took a moment to reflect on how different the world is now than it was in 1963,” said David Kirchhoff, president and CEO, Weight Watchers International. “... That world involves the average person making more than 200 food-related decisions each day — of which they are aware of about 15.  Weight Watchers arms people with more knowledge on how to successfully lose weight and keep it off.”

To learn more about Weight Watchers service, products and publications, visit www.weightwatchers.com. To find the nearest Weight Watchers meeting location, call 1-800-651-6000 or click the “Find a Meeting” link at the top of the home page.